The Menendez brothers are begging to be released from prison before Thanksgiving as their legal team devises a new strategy to free them.
Erik and Lyle Menendez’s attorney, Mark Geragos, is filing papers today asking California Governor Gavin Newsom for clemency, reported TMZ.
According to the official website For Newsom, clemency can result in a reduced sentence or “pardon,” providing “relief from punishment” and restoring some civil rights for people who have been convicted of a crime.
Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of murdering their parents in 1996 in a trial that shocked and divided the nation.
The brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, has said he will seek clemency to obtain a reduced sentence or “pardon” consideration.
The brothers told the courts they were acting in self-defense after suffering lifelong sexual abuse at the hands of their father.
‘We have a double track. “I’m doing everything I can, I’ve said it publicly, I want them home not only for Thanksgiving, but for Joan’s 93rd day and to celebrate with Aunt Terry as well,” Geragos said, referring to Joan’s sister. the brothers’ mother, Joan VanderMolen, and the brothers’ father’s sister, Terry Barait, reported. American weekly.
Geragos also told TMZ that they plan to ask the judge at their resentencing hearing to change the brothers’ sentence from murder to manslaughter.
If this were granted, they would be immediately released for time already served.
The brothers’ case was requested to be reopened in October 2024 due to public interest following the release of the Netflix series Monsters and the documentary The Menéndez Brothers.
Joan VanderMolen, the sister of murder victim Kitty Menendez, will soon celebrate her 93rd birthday and the Menendez brothers’ legal team hopes the brothers will celebrate with her outside of prison.
A new judge is also expected in the case, and the next resentencing hearing will take place next month.
The Mendez brothers were sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996 for the murders of their mother, Kitty Menéndez, and father, José Menéndez.
The brothers told courts during the trial that they had acted in self-defense after suffering lifelong sexual abuse at the hands of their father.
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon requested the reopening of his case on October 24 on public interest grounds following the release of the Netflix limited series Monsters and the documentary The Menendez Brothers.
During his announcement, Gascón said: ‘They have been in prison for almost 35 years. I think they have paid their debt to society.’
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon recommended that the brothers be resentenced and his legal team is seeking to change their conviction to involuntary manslaughter.
Gascón said: ‘They have been in prison for almost 35 years. I think they have paid their debt to society.’
Many have expressed concern about the brothers’ release. Pop culture guru Perez Hilton is concerned that Erik and Lyle will be treated similarly to Gypsy Rose Blanchard following their recent release.
The columnist, blogger and social media personality said that “a lot of people will turn against them” and “they will be under a microscope after their release,” he told Fox News.
He also warned about how bombarded they can become on social media and how many can examine any money-making opportunities that may arise from their attention.
However, stars like Kim Kardashian have celebrated the brothers’ potential release. The 44-year-old took to Instagram last week to say the brothers had been “granted a second chance” and praised Gascon for “righting a major wrong.”